10 year old sleeping problems

[chilliwitch]

My 10 year old daughter has always gone to bed and watched a dvd to help her sleep and leaves it on all night.I turn it off when I go to bed only to wake up in the morning to find she has turned it back on during the night.I've asked her why she turns it on back on and she has told me that she cannot sleep without any noise.I told her tonight that during half term I'm going to turn it off and it must stay off.She ended up in floods of tears saying she was terrified and that she cannot sleep without it on as she gets scared.She said it takes her mind off being scared.When I asked her what she was scared of she said things coming to get her or having a fire in the house.She shares a room with her 17 yr old sister and says she cannot sleep if she isn't there(she is out most evenings)How do I solve this?My 2 older children never had this problem.She is a very bright little girl,I was told she's above average for her age in all subjects at school and is doing really well,could a over active imagination be the problem maybe?Do i leave it on and hope she'll grow out of it??
TIA
Chilliwitch x

[ummmm]

On sleepovers and school trips they only sleep out of pure exhaustion...sometimes standing up.

[chilliwitch]

She went away on a school trip last year for 2 nights,she said she slept with her torch on all night(true or not i dunno!)but didn't really sleep properly,although she must've slept ok as she wasn't exhausted when she came home!Im thinking stop worrying about it like B00 says its not hurting anyone,her older sister sleeps like the dead so it's not affecting her maybe i'm worrying over nothing

[chrissa1]

Is she asleep when you switch it off and it's the silence that wakes her up? If so then the device that ginge mentioned sounds ideal.

[China Doll]

Thank you ginge! :c)

I reckon if it's a combination of both then I would have a radio and a night light rather than the telly in the room. I just think that there might also be unsuitable stuff for a 10 year old on late at night and you won't be awake to monitor that. I tend to be a bit old fashioned in this respect though and I don't really like having TV's in bedrooms in general. ('Cept when I'm on holiday in a hotely and then it seems a bit of a novelty :c)

[anneasquith]

i dont see it as a big problem, if it gives her comfort or she feels better with it on, what happens when big sis in asleep in the bedroom ? only issue i would have is , that she isnt watching anything inappropriate.

[ladyalex]

I'm with Boo here. I cannot sleep without a radio on beside my bed. All night. I find Radio 7 pretty good. Failing that, radio4. It seems to block out all the other little noises that bother me.
So, I cannot see what the problem is. Her sister isn't bothered by it, she sleeps well with it. Everything else is going well. I'd leave well alone. There will be plenty of other battles to fight as time goes on, don't think I'd bother fighting this one.

[annie0000]

what about something like this?

http://www.soundaslee...eaker_Pillow_342872GE

would give her the comfort of the noise without it bothering anyone else and without the stimulation of the tv. it could actually be the watching the tv or dvd that is stimulating her brain too much and making her worry in the first place.

If she was mine I'd want rid of it. My boys has a couple of episodes of being scared in bed when they were toddlers, but it easier to deal with at that age. We just told them that when mummy and daddy weren't there, we had entructed their favourite soft toy to look after them and to make sure that nothing harmed them. We'd then have a good talk to the toy with them listening explaining about their duty and it worked a treat. It's easier when they believe totally in what you say and the magic of soft toys!

[chilliwitch]

Thank you all for your helpful answers,maybe i'm worrying over nothing.As for your concerns over what she is watching,she only watches her dvds,not normal tv so i know she's not watching anything unsuitable.I've decided to give it a couple of months until summertime and maybe try again,gradually!!

[clipclop1]

I agree with Boo, I dont think you can pigeon hole children into being 'too old' or 'too young' for certain things... if she is succeeding at things in school then good on her, doesn't mean she's not a child though who can easily let her imagination run away with her. Maybe it could be an idea to talk to her teachers too and they could incorporate something into their teaching about safety at home and to trust that our houses are safe and secure etc... not to single her out but to subtly say something that she may listen to from an outside party.
Also, you mention she doesnt like the idea of an MP3... what about just having one in her ear so that could eliminate the idea of getting tangled up in it.
Bless her, its funny how their imaginations run away with them isnt it?
Another random suggestion would be to totally tire her out with loads of exercise before bedtime, if she was to conk out with no dvd and stay that way it would be a big achievement for her!

[whiskeysheri]

I'm with B00, too. I can't sleep without the telly on (volume 1); once the lights go out and there's no noise, I could stay awake all night thinking. I'm okay if staying at a mate's, though, just takes me a lot longer to nod off... unless I'm drunk. :) I'd just be worried about what she's got on, but that's all.